July 25: Systems Administrator Appreciation Day!

SysAdmin Appreciation Day is the brainchild of Ted Kekatos, who, as a working systems administrator four years ago, began the idea at a small company picnic in Chicago as a way to recognize the quiet but key work that systems administrators perform. (Kekatos' definition of sysadmins is inclusive, and lists anyone whose job is to administer a variety of computer services, such as network engineers, help-desk technicians, and Webmasters.)

His old company no longer thrives, so the picnics that served as the basis for the celebrations are no longer. Nonetheless, Kekatos every year continues to send out press releases to keep alive the growing tradition, now in its fourth year and continues to receive hundreds of e-mails regarding the unofficial holiday. Some of those e-mails, he says, come with pictures of ice cream socials that some companies hold to honor the IT staff (pictures from past year's celebrations are posted on the SysAdminDay site).

The SysAdminDay Web site seems aimed at users, as it defines the role of sysadmins and suggests a list of gifts that are appropriate for giving to administrators.